Me 262 pilots claimed a total of 542 Allied kills although higher claims are sometimes made. The Allies countered its potential effectiveness in the air by attacking the aircraft on the ground and during takeoff and landing. Engine reliability problems, from the pioneering nature of its Junkers Jumo 004 axial-flow turbojet engines—the first ever placed in mass production—and attacks by Allied forces on fuel supplies during the deteriorating late-war situation also reduced the effectiveness of the aircraft as a fighting force. In the end, the Me 262 had a negligible impact on the course of the war as a result of its late introduction and the consequently small numbers put in operational service.

​While German use of the aircraft ended with the close of the Second World War, a small number were operated by the Czechoslovak Air Force until 1951. Captured Me 262s were studied and flight tested by the major powers, and ultimately influenced the designs of a number of post-war aircraft such as the North American F-86 Sabre and Boeing B-47 Stratojet. A number of aircraft have survived on static display in museums, and there have also been several privately-built flying reproductions.

​THE KIT:

This kit came in a large shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.

The box art shows a Me-262A attacking a formation of B-24's. The 262 is in overall light-blue base with green mottling. It has a yellow fuselage band and a white number 3 before the fuselage cross.

One side panel says PRINTED IN THE USA above Hasegawa's street address in Shizuoka City, Japan. This is the same place Tamiya calls home.

There is a top and side view of the 262 with no markings and a list of the kits features: 2 fully detailed Jumo engines, optional parts to build as a 1a, 1b or 2a versions. Decals for 3 aircraft, cannon, rocket and bomb armament, tricycle landing-gear with rubber tires. Easy to assemble.

The other side panel has 5 color box arts of other aircraft kits Hasegawa manufactures:

Page 1 begins with a black and white side view of the 262 with a white number 8 on the sides, followed by the history of the aircraft and a black and white photo of a real 262 sitting on a runway with 3 crewmen around it.

Minicraft's street address in Torrance, CA is at the bottom of the page. They were once the U.S. distributor for Hasegawas, but I don't think they exist any more.

Page 2 has the parts trees illustrations with a list of the names of the parts. A small very inky black and white photo of a Me-109 and a Fw-190 is at the bottom of the page.

Page 3 through 6 give a grand total of 12 assembly steps,.

The bottom of page 6 has a dark and inky black and white photo of a real 262 in a hangar.

Pages 7 and 8 are the painting and marking instructions.

Page 7 has a top and bottom view and 5 side profiles and an illustration of the pilot figure, plus a cutaway of the jet engine.

The top view shows a splinter pattern of dark-green and black-green. The bottom view is overall light-blue.

The first profile is of a Me-262A-1a of Kommando Nowatny 1944. It is in a pattern of dark-grey splotches over light-grey, above a light-blue undercarraige. It has a yellow fuselage band and a white 10 ahead of the windshield on the fuselage sides. It has yellow noses on the jet engine cowlings.

The second profile is of a Me-262A-1a of KG-54 in 1945. It is overall light-blue with grey swirls on the upper surfaces. It has a yellow fuselage band, a black 2 fuselage number, a red nose and red jet engine noses.

The third profile is of a Me-262A-1a of KG-54 "Grunhertz" in 1944. It is in a mottle of dark-grey over light-grey above a light-blue undercarraige. It has a green heart logo under the cockpit on the sides and a black werk number 110400 on the rudder.

The fourth profile is of a Me-262A-1b. No unit is given. It has light-grey upper surfaces and light-blue undercarraige. It has the black werk number 110713 on the rudder.

The fifth profile is of a Me-262A-2a of KG-51 "Edelweiss" in 1944. It is in a heavy blotch of black-green over dark-green above a light-blue undercarraige. It has the unit logo of a blue shield with a yellow edelweiss flower on it in front of the windshield on the fuselage sides.Page 8 begins with 2 line-drawings showing different splinter layeouts of the top of the 262.

This is followed by a profile of a Me-262A-1b in a heavy pattern of black-green and dark-green splotches over a light-blue undercarraige. It has a yellow and black fuselage band. It has a white fuselage number 3 on it's sides and a bare metal nose panel.

This is followed by drawings of the dashboard and cockpit side-consoles, telling their colors.

Next, is a profile of a Me-262A-1a of 3-JG7 in 1945. It is in a mottle of dark-grey over light-grey with light-blue undercarraige. It has the white fuselage number 8, a yellow fuselage band and the unit logo of a blue shield with a black diagonal band with a white greyhound on it. It has a black werk number 112385 on the rudder.

The final profile is of a Me-262A-2a of 1-KG51. It is in a heavy squiggle of dark-green over light blue. It has a white letter Y on the fuselage sides.